They observe that while there are more than 150 points of entry into the country, only 20 are formal, posing a high risk of infection for Uganda even as the country has tried to swiftly handle infections that have come up in recent months before spreading to more people.
Although, Aceng doesn’t mention when the drugs will be delivered, she says the country remains at risk of infection even as there are no active cases, adding that this is the reason they are considering all interventions including treatment, vaccination and screening at the various border points.
The deceased was a 34-year-old Tanzanian Doctor who was studying at Makerere University in Uganda before she developed headache, fever, rash and bloody Diarrhea on August 28.
Dr. Solome Okware, the Technical Advisor Policy at the Infectious Diseases Institute in Makerere University, notes that Uganda has heightened its capacity building efforts in coordination, social mobilization, surveillance and case management since the Ebola hemorrhagic fever broke out in the neighboring DR Congo, which can be used to strengthen health systems.
According to a joint statement by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Ministry, the deceased passed through an informal entry point and entered Uganda on Thursday to buy fish at a market in Mpondwe without being screened.
Dr Muruta observes that more than 1,000 people cross the border into Uganda every of the two market days from the Democratic Republic of Congo, where Ebola has killed more than 1400 people in a space of 10 months. Thousands of others enter the country every day, escaping insecurity in Eastern Congo.
Ever since an outbreak of Ebola was confirmed in the Neighboring DR Congo last year, Uganda has been on high alert trying to control the disease from spiralling to the country. For just preparedness and control, 18 million Shillings was spent. Now that the outbreak happened, they are seeking USD 7.5million (28 billion Shillings) more for the response.
Uganda has previously battled Ebola in two different occurrences, the worst being the 2000 outbreak in which 224 lives were lost and another 425 people infected. The other outbreak was in 2007 in Bundibugyo district where the country lost 37 people while the third outbreak involving three members of the same family was confirmed last week.
The minister announced this while receiving a donation of two multipurpose Land cruiser pick-up vehicles from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Irish government to boost Uganda’s response to Ebola. The donation comes three days after the confirmation of three cases of Ebola in Kasese.
People who this afternoon came to attend the 2019/2020 budget reading at Kampala Serena Hotel were made to wash hands with detergent following the Ebola outbreak in the Western part of the country.
The EU statement says the European Union is reinforcing preparedness in Uganda because there is a real risk of Ebola spreading to Uganda due to intense cross-border movements between the two neighbouring countries.
According to Mugisha, the 25-year-old man, a resident of Kikyo parish in Bundibugyo district presented with signs of Ebola prompting them to isolate him at Karugutu Health Centre IV - Ntoroko district.
According to the districts health officer Rogers Mugisha, the suspect had developed all the signs of Ebola yesterday, forcing them to get his blood for testing because they could not verify from the district.
The officer-in-charge of the centre, Ahab Tumushabe, from Action Africa Help AAH says the disinfection exercise is in response to an outbreak of Ebola, a deadly hemorrhagic fever, in western DRC.
The first Ebola treatment centre has been established in the Likati General Hospital. Protective gear has been dispatched to health workers and a mobile lab is being constructed and then deployed to the area. Immediate repairs to air strips and telecommunications are also being carried out.
The teams are conducting extensive investigation and risk assessment in order to provide additional support to the community. The task includes epidemiological surveillance, contact tracing, case management, and community engagement.
An isolation ward has been established in Bundibugyo district following reports of Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo --DRC. The isolation ward has been set up at Nyahuka Health Centre III, two kilometres from the Uganda DRC border.
The World Health Organisation confirmed in a tweet this evening that the DR Congo health ministry had informed them of a lab-confirmed case of the disease. A statement issued by the ministry indicates that the outbreak was confirmed from tests on nine people who came down with a hemorrhagic fever in Bas-Uele province in the northeast of the country on or after April 22.
